scarborough - and dolphins

Yesterday we visited Scarborough, and spent a wonderful afternoon, walking along the beach, enjoying a coffee and sarnie....and most magically, watching a dolphin swimming at South Bay!

I've visited Scarborough many times, but never seen a dolphin there. Whenever I've been lucky enough to see these creatures, it's been on my holidays in Scotland. And even there, it's not guaranteed to see them.

My camera's not good enough to capture the dolphin, but this was the sea as we stood watching.

It was still; like pewter, a few ripples on the surface. The sky was coloured the pale blue of winter, with pink splashes, as if from a watercolour brush.

This made dolphin-spotting really easy. The dorsal fin stood out, black triangle, against the silver stillness of the sea.

I was, of course, extremely excited at spotting the dolphin. I've looked it up on the t'internet, and discovered there's been a pod of them seen in Scarborough, with people out on boat trips, telling how the dolphins came around the boats, and got very close to them. A few people were quoted as saying they've not seen dolphins off Scarborough for 'donkey's years', or even in their lifetimes.

I feel so very lucky to have been there at the right time to have seen one. A right good start to the year!

Scarborough's working port, and marina. A tangle of floats and nets. Fantastic textures and textiles!

And at the end of the day, the boats light up in the bay. Including xmas lights! Gave a seasonal touch to our day out. And on 12th night, all these xmas lights will soon be taken down, and put away for next year. Farewell 2012, and welcome 2013.

'fears, foes, & faeries'

At Scarborough Museum is an exhibition called 'fears, foes & faeries', which is on until the 30th September.
Anyone with any interest in folklore, and charms and amulets, would find this a fascinating looksee.
It uses the Museum's collection which came from William James Clarke, who was collecting between 1900-1945, and lived in Scarborough.
The photographs are of one of the exhibition cases in the 'Charmacy & Health' room.
Below is a close-up of 2 of the exhibits; on the left is the throat of a goose; on the right is a fabric bag, which held a charm for health.
Animal parts were used by cunning men and women, and witches, as part of healing rituals, and the philosophy of 'sympathetic magic'. To twenty-first century eyes, this can seem uncomfortable and even cruel.....the kingfisher nailed to the mast of a boat, which came from Guernsey, as recently as 1913, was one which struck me particularly. It was supposed to bring a good catch to the fishermen. And possessing a kingfisher feather was thought to bring protection from lightning. 
Life was tough for ordinary people in the early years of the twentieth century, and they needed any help they could get.

More information can be found here.